Sikh misls

History glossary

Also called: Misls, Sikh confederacies · Topic: Regional Resistance: Rajputs, Ahoms, Sikhs · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"

Meaning

The Sikh misls were armed Sikh groups in 18th-century Punjab, each led by its own chief. These groups are also called Sikh confederacies. Tradition counts twelve of them. A misl was a band of fighters who held its own lands. Its chief was called a misldar. The misls grew strong as Mughal power in Punjab grew weak. On big matters, they met together at Amritsar as the Sarbat Khalsa, a gathering of the whole Sikh community. Their decisions there were called gurmata. They matter because Maharaja Ranjit Singh united them around the turn of the 19th century. This created a strong, centralised Sikh Empire.

Example

Ranjit Singh was the chief of the Sukerchakia misl. He captured Lahore in 1799 and then brought the other misls under his rule. His Sikh Empire spread across much of the Northwest, including parts of Kashmir. It held out against the British until the mid-19th century.

Don't confuse with

  • The Khalsa was the brotherhood of Sikh warriors that Guru Gobind Singh founded. It stood for justice, equality and defence of the faith. The misls were separate political and military units that came later, within the Sikh community.

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